A Birthday Visit
by EllipsesBandit
Summary: As Yuuta prepares to go to high school, he receives a very special birthday gift from his aniki.  Humor.  No pairings except a very slight mention of TezuFuji.


_**Title: ** __A Birthday Visit  
**Author:** The EllipsesBandit...  
**Disclaimer**: Blame Konomi Takeshi for any and all problems.  
**Pairings:** Veeeeeeeeeeeery slight TezuFuji because the EB... did write this  
**Rating:: ** G as can be  
**Summary:** As he prepares to go to high school, Yuuta receives a special gift from his aniki.  
**A/N**: No, I'm not quite dead, just lacking inspiration recently. This was written as a birthday for my own dear Yuuta._

* * *

Yuuta hadn't received a real birthday gift from his brother in about five years, nor had he given one. For his tenth birthday, Syusuke somehow managed to purchase (and wrap) a live tarantula for his brother, claiming that Yuuta was lonely and needed more friends. Two weeks later, Yuuta bought an extremely creepy clown jack-in-the-box in retaliation. Somewhere, he still had the tape recorder with Syusuke's shriek upon opening it. Aniki'd had nightmares for weeks. After that, their mother instituted a house rule that she would oversee all gifts until further notice. Thus, ever since they'd received sensible, practical gifts like racquets and tennis shoes and the occasional video game whenever their birthdays rolled around.

This year, Yuuta was turning fifteen, and in a few months he'd be starting high school. Mizuki-san called and offered to take him to dinner to celebrate, which might be nice. He hadn't seen any of his old senpai in months, and the team was… different without them. Thankfully, his birthday fell on a Wednesday this year, so he wouldn't have to deal with his family until he went home the next weekend. It'd be a nice, relaxing evening…

… he thought until he answered the door.

"Omedetou, Yuuta!" Syusuke sang.

"How did you get here?!"

"I told Tezuka it was an emergency, and we took a train down." Syusuke pushed his way into the room, bouncing on the bed.

Tezuka Kunimitsu was a lot of things, but gullible was not one of them. However, Yuuta didn't want to know how his brother had actually convinced the former buchou to venture onto St. Rudolph's grounds. Besides -- "I meant how did you get _in here_ . It's a closed campus."

Syusuke blinked. "Doesn't seem that closed. And I brought you a present, so don't be rude." He displayed an elegantly wrapped blue package. It looked entirely too perfect for Yuuta's comfort. If this were a cartoon, there would undoubtedly be a lit fuse trailing off of the side.

"If there's a spider or a bomb or something in there, I'm telling Mom."

Aniki narrowed his eyes. "Do you know how difficult it was to sneak this past mom? A little gratitude would be appreciated."

"Not until I know what I'm 'grateful' for."

"You don't trust me?"

Yuuta snorted.

"I'm serious, Yuuta. I've been worried ever since you decided to go to that high school in Okinawa. There's _Higa_ in Okinawa." He said "Higa" the way some people might say "vermin." "Besides, high school is a very different world. You're going to be meeting lots of new people, and it can be very confusing. I just want you to be safe. You should always have protection with you. "

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuuta raised a suspicious eyebrow.

Syusuke stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and handed him the box, sighing, "They grow up so fast."

Yuuta was pretty sure he didn't want to open the box. Whatever his aniki was planning was going to embarrass him some way or another, but if he didn't open it now, Aniki would likely concoct another scheme in a much more public area. Tentatively, Yuuta pulled apart the shimmering paper.

"Aniki."

"Mn?"

"It's mace."

"Like I said, for protection. There are _Higa_ in Okinawa, and I won't be close enough to protect you all the time." He smiled, though not his usual false smile. This one pointed downward too much, a little too embarrassed. It stopped Yuuta's justifiable anger as he realized that this was Syusuke's legitimate (albeit demeaning) way of showing he cared. Hell, he was more or less saying he trusted Yuuta enough to look out for himself, and he wasn't saying anything about transferring to Okinawa. Maybe, just maybe Aniki was ready to let go a little. With an exasperated sigh, Yuuta mumbled, "Thanks."

Syusuke gave him a quick hug. "You can bring it with you to dinner tonight."

"Ah… I kind of have plans tonight, Aniki--"

"I know," Syusuke interrupted. "And isn't it a coincidence but Tezuka and I have a reservation at the same restaurant! Maybe we can all sit together.

Yuuta shut his eyes, counting to ten. So much for letting go.

At least he had two weeks to plan for Syusuke's birthday. Perhaps he'd arrange to take his brother to the circus…


End file.
